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"Thanks." She sighs. "Oh, Alice is gonna be mad at me..."

And then she walks through.

And pentagons herself some astronomy.

And there are many asteroids, with many charming names -

Including a cute little one called "Alice".

"Heh," Bella says, and she goes there.

It's little. Not The Little Prince sized, but just a few kilometers in any dimension. She turns out to be able to do the entire terraforming job - gravity, atmosphere, pachysandra and moss and clover - with a few pentagons. She puts up a little house with a food replicator and plumbing in it.

And she grabs the Joker as soon as that's done with from where he sleeps in the asylum.
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Out here, he has no makeup, and his hair is softer and less green, and he is indeed wearing a very unattractive beige jumpsuit.

A few seconds after he appears, he stirs and yawns.
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"You made yourself my problem," says Bella darkly.

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"Oh, it's you."

He smiles up at her.

"Hiya, smarty pants. What'd I do?"
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"I'm not really interested in having a prolonged conversation. I'm going to send you back to sleep, and give you about ten minutes, and then wake you back up, and all I need to know is whether you went to Milliways or not."

That's square territory. She feels a little bad about using Alice's coins for this. She makes her own square.
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He frowns, perplexed.

"No, really, what'd I—? Is this about your boyfriend?"
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"That pissed me off, but I was going to do this if I found my way into your world before you and he even clapped eyes on each other," Bella says. "G'night." Square goes.

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...and there he is, right where he was before he woke up on an asteroid.

"Huh."
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"The fuck?" says Alice.

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"Your girlfriend's jealous," says the Joker, smiling crookedly.

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He rolls his eyes. "She is not. She really doesn't like you, though. 'Cause you're a murderer and stuff."

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"Well, that's her prerogative," says the Joker. "Did she tell you what she's gonna do about it? I bet not."

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"...No...?"

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"She stuck me on a little asteroid," he explains. "And then she put me to sleep again to see if I'd come here, which I do, so that part's okay. She said earlier that if she did it and I didn't get Milliways she'd kill me, but the way she was looking just now, I bet she wouldn't. Too nice. She's pretty mad at me."

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"Mad about what?"

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"Guess."

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A triangle suffices to wake him. Bella's sitting on the roof of his new little house. "Well?"

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"Yep," he says, and leaves it at that.

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"Grand. If you do get bored, your food replicator is more flexible than the standard model, it'll make you hemlock or whatever - it's voice operated. The glowy air is controlled by thought. You should be able to keep occupied. Ask for avocados and grow more from the pits, build a castle out of your dishes, whatever." She shrugs. "And there's nobody for you to hurt up here. Questions? Comments?"

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"If you don't wanna talk about why you're mad at me, then nope."

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Bella doesn't even say goodbye. She flits back down to Earth, to where Roberta's door is.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," she says, sidling back in grimly. "He's alive, by the way."
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"...Thank you," is what Roberta settles on after a moment.

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"Thank Milliways. It showed up for him when I put him to sleep, or I'd have been another few minutes watching him swallow arsenic or something."

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She glances at the door, but doesn't comment.

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Bella goes back to the bar. Her milkshake is long gone. She wants hot cider now, and when it arrives she holds it in both hands, staring into the steam.

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